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Introductio
It's been awhile since we had one of these. Anyway, a few months ago, a bunch of us knowledgeable SCP members took to Discord to discuss major changes to the verse as a whole and come up with a more permanent solution to one of the most annoying verses to figure out. The main purpose of this thread is to basically solidify some rules and clear any doubts about the SCP Foundation. Hopefully this also sparks further discussion on the verse. This is the first step to fixing SCP. Let's get started.
Pataphysics
This will come up a lot where anything meta is involved. Now there is no direct definition of Pataphysics in SCP, however, we can form an idea of it based on the pages it has been referenced on. Most of the time, you will find the word Pataphysics on pages with reality-fiction interaction on almost any scale. From interacting with 4028, to dealing with Swann. The reason why I'm pointing this out is due to the fact that whenever Pataphysics is involved, the next part is proven true.
Narratives
Narratives within the context of the SCPverse refers to a composite hierarchy of reality-fiction differences. What this means is that reality and all it's dimensions exist within a single Narrative. There are Narratives above and below said Narrative and each Narrative views the one below it as fiction. It gets better, as every piece of fiction is real in the SCPverse and a Narrative in and of itself. From major stories such as Sword Art Online to folklore created by a single man, as long as it is a story, it exists as a Narrative.
Sources for the above include:
Tight Bookshelves: A tale going through the daily life of a Pataphysics researcher. This is the tale that alludes to the idea that all fiction are Narratives.
Researcher Kimba Laslow tore off her coat, pulled the hairband out of her blonde ponytail, and searched for the closest available soft furnishing to sink herself into. She had just mediated a legal dispute between H.R.H. King Duncan of Scotland, and Katniss Everdeen of District 12, after their narratives were mushed together by way of a heavy suitcase being set on top. It was a scenario she was used to: most people fail to realize that book covers aren't infallible, and that narratives can become connected if enough external pressure is applied.
The above states that Narratives within books can mesh together if enough physical strain is applied externally, which in this case would be two books (The Combined Works of William Shakespeare and The Hunger Games) placed under a suitcase.
SCP-2614: An episode of The Sopranos viewed from the perspective of a camera that can freely roam around the world. This camera is capable of entering other works of fiction within the show and entering works of fiction from within them and so on. The researchers assigned to this SCP entered work after work until they arrived to the hallway of SCP-392. This is proof that the SCP reality exists within a narrative that exists within a narrative that exists within a narrative … that exists within The Sopranos' universe.
SCP-4040: A pit that is described as a Narrative singularity. SCP-4040-01 could create Narratives that 'shape reality' and influenced what people did. His Narratives would collapse however, and form a sinkhole that contained and created all the Narratives in Sloth Pit. 4040-01 stated that people's belief in the Narratives or 'folklore' is what makes the anomalies in the Narrative real.
SCP-3812: Since we've covered this one before, and he's the reason why our current ratings exist, I'm going to be brief.
"Your world has rules. Physical rules that cannot be broken. You call them the laws of the universe and they're what you study in physics, chemistry, etc. Those laws create the narrative of your reality, the unchangeable story that defines your existence. Once the laws are established and the ball is set in motion, it cannot be changed.
I wrote the laws of your universe, and as such I created the narrative. This isn't the first time I've done this, but it was the first time I tried something like this specifically. I wanted to create something that, by definition, superseded everything that superseded it. I wanted to see how many layers there are, if the stack of narratives really do go on forever upward. The mistake I made was when I didn't realize that by making Him supersede everything that supersedes him, he's also superseding himself.
I'm sorry, I think I've ****** up pretty badly this time. I've tried everything I can think of, but I can't undo Him. I don't really understand how, but I think He's above me now, and whatever is above me, too, because whoever wrote my narrative isn't happy about this. I don't know where he's at now, but I think he exists in all of our realities simultaneously. Eventually he'll either reach the top or just keep going, and neither option is good."
The above is an excerpt from Ben, an entity existing in the Narrative just above the SCP Narrative and the so called "creator" of it. Ben created SCP-3812 to "supersede everything that supersedes him" which is to say that if 3812 exists in a Narrative, he will ascend it and move on to a Narrative higher than him, and he will keep doing this until he reaches the proverbial "top", if it even exists. So as of now, he's ascending an unknown number of Narratives and is still going. This puts the upper bound of Narratives at an unknown, possibly countless number.
With Narratives out of the way, we can now work towards building a clear understanding of the cosmology of SCP. But let's first address…
Author Pages
The trouble with assigning what is canon within a series which openly admits to having a loose canon is that we can't say for sure what we can consider and what we can't. Which is why, we have decided to apply rules and standards that the site has applied for other areas to areas like the Author Pages. Author Pages have a rating system like main list articles, but unlike the main list, they don't get deleted after reaching -10 votes. We have decided, for the sake of consistency, Author Pages with -10 votes or less will not be considered canon. The reason for this is that a canon hub, as part of it's plot, has embedded itself within the Author Page to ensure its continued existence. A fun concept on paper, but hell for the purpose of scaling and consistency. Speaking of canon...
What is Canon?
The question to end all questions. The last big SCP CRT was started because of this question. To put it bluntly, there is no canon. It's a running theme within the site and sometimes used as a major plot point in some articles and tales. The important thing to remember is that the SCP Foundation was created as a non-alienating site where anyone can write whatever they want as long as it is up to the site's standards and not downvoted to hell. As such, most things can be regarded or disregarded by the reader at their own discretion. In essence, headcanon. However, with that same sentiment, one could also consider everything as canon, and still be right. For the sake of statistics scaling and everyone's mental well-being, we shall assume the latter is true and rate our pages based on that. While I know that there will be strong opinions against this, we must remember that with fiction, there will sometimes be inconsistency and outliers. Vice versa, there will be consistent stats, statements and the like. SCP is not the incomprehensible monstrosity everyone thinks it is. Even with varying intentions and mindsets, authors can still write articles that maintain consistency with regards to the rest of the site. That being said, while all things are canon, not all canons link to each other. So beware of this when applying scaling links.
The Future of SCP
Like I said at the beginning, this will be the first step to fixing the verse. Subsequent things to fix will be highlighted below in order of importance.
It's been awhile since we had one of these. Anyway, a few months ago, a bunch of us knowledgeable SCP members took to Discord to discuss major changes to the verse as a whole and come up with a more permanent solution to one of the most annoying verses to figure out. The main purpose of this thread is to basically solidify some rules and clear any doubts about the SCP Foundation. Hopefully this also sparks further discussion on the verse. This is the first step to fixing SCP. Let's get started.
Pataphysics
This will come up a lot where anything meta is involved. Now there is no direct definition of Pataphysics in SCP, however, we can form an idea of it based on the pages it has been referenced on. Most of the time, you will find the word Pataphysics on pages with reality-fiction interaction on almost any scale. From interacting with 4028, to dealing with Swann. The reason why I'm pointing this out is due to the fact that whenever Pataphysics is involved, the next part is proven true.
Narratives
Narratives within the context of the SCPverse refers to a composite hierarchy of reality-fiction differences. What this means is that reality and all it's dimensions exist within a single Narrative. There are Narratives above and below said Narrative and each Narrative views the one below it as fiction. It gets better, as every piece of fiction is real in the SCPverse and a Narrative in and of itself. From major stories such as Sword Art Online to folklore created by a single man, as long as it is a story, it exists as a Narrative.
Sources for the above include:
Tight Bookshelves: A tale going through the daily life of a Pataphysics researcher. This is the tale that alludes to the idea that all fiction are Narratives.
Researcher Kimba Laslow tore off her coat, pulled the hairband out of her blonde ponytail, and searched for the closest available soft furnishing to sink herself into. She had just mediated a legal dispute between H.R.H. King Duncan of Scotland, and Katniss Everdeen of District 12, after their narratives were mushed together by way of a heavy suitcase being set on top. It was a scenario she was used to: most people fail to realize that book covers aren't infallible, and that narratives can become connected if enough external pressure is applied.
The above states that Narratives within books can mesh together if enough physical strain is applied externally, which in this case would be two books (The Combined Works of William Shakespeare and The Hunger Games) placed under a suitcase.
SCP-2614: An episode of The Sopranos viewed from the perspective of a camera that can freely roam around the world. This camera is capable of entering other works of fiction within the show and entering works of fiction from within them and so on. The researchers assigned to this SCP entered work after work until they arrived to the hallway of SCP-392. This is proof that the SCP reality exists within a narrative that exists within a narrative that exists within a narrative … that exists within The Sopranos' universe.
SCP-4040: A pit that is described as a Narrative singularity. SCP-4040-01 could create Narratives that 'shape reality' and influenced what people did. His Narratives would collapse however, and form a sinkhole that contained and created all the Narratives in Sloth Pit. 4040-01 stated that people's belief in the Narratives or 'folklore' is what makes the anomalies in the Narrative real.
SCP-3812: Since we've covered this one before, and he's the reason why our current ratings exist, I'm going to be brief.
"Your world has rules. Physical rules that cannot be broken. You call them the laws of the universe and they're what you study in physics, chemistry, etc. Those laws create the narrative of your reality, the unchangeable story that defines your existence. Once the laws are established and the ball is set in motion, it cannot be changed.
I wrote the laws of your universe, and as such I created the narrative. This isn't the first time I've done this, but it was the first time I tried something like this specifically. I wanted to create something that, by definition, superseded everything that superseded it. I wanted to see how many layers there are, if the stack of narratives really do go on forever upward. The mistake I made was when I didn't realize that by making Him supersede everything that supersedes him, he's also superseding himself.
I'm sorry, I think I've ****** up pretty badly this time. I've tried everything I can think of, but I can't undo Him. I don't really understand how, but I think He's above me now, and whatever is above me, too, because whoever wrote my narrative isn't happy about this. I don't know where he's at now, but I think he exists in all of our realities simultaneously. Eventually he'll either reach the top or just keep going, and neither option is good."
The above is an excerpt from Ben, an entity existing in the Narrative just above the SCP Narrative and the so called "creator" of it. Ben created SCP-3812 to "supersede everything that supersedes him" which is to say that if 3812 exists in a Narrative, he will ascend it and move on to a Narrative higher than him, and he will keep doing this until he reaches the proverbial "top", if it even exists. So as of now, he's ascending an unknown number of Narratives and is still going. This puts the upper bound of Narratives at an unknown, possibly countless number.
With Narratives out of the way, we can now work towards building a clear understanding of the cosmology of SCP. But let's first address…
Author Pages
The trouble with assigning what is canon within a series which openly admits to having a loose canon is that we can't say for sure what we can consider and what we can't. Which is why, we have decided to apply rules and standards that the site has applied for other areas to areas like the Author Pages. Author Pages have a rating system like main list articles, but unlike the main list, they don't get deleted after reaching -10 votes. We have decided, for the sake of consistency, Author Pages with -10 votes or less will not be considered canon. The reason for this is that a canon hub, as part of it's plot, has embedded itself within the Author Page to ensure its continued existence. A fun concept on paper, but hell for the purpose of scaling and consistency. Speaking of canon...
What is Canon?
The question to end all questions. The last big SCP CRT was started because of this question. To put it bluntly, there is no canon. It's a running theme within the site and sometimes used as a major plot point in some articles and tales. The important thing to remember is that the SCP Foundation was created as a non-alienating site where anyone can write whatever they want as long as it is up to the site's standards and not downvoted to hell. As such, most things can be regarded or disregarded by the reader at their own discretion. In essence, headcanon. However, with that same sentiment, one could also consider everything as canon, and still be right. For the sake of statistics scaling and everyone's mental well-being, we shall assume the latter is true and rate our pages based on that. While I know that there will be strong opinions against this, we must remember that with fiction, there will sometimes be inconsistency and outliers. Vice versa, there will be consistent stats, statements and the like. SCP is not the incomprehensible monstrosity everyone thinks it is. Even with varying intentions and mindsets, authors can still write articles that maintain consistency with regards to the rest of the site. That being said, while all things are canon, not all canons link to each other. So beware of this when applying scaling links.
The Future of SCP
Like I said at the beginning, this will be the first step to fixing the verse. Subsequent things to fix will be highlighted below in order of importance.
- Cosmology and dimensionality of the Baseline Narrative (The Narrative where the Foundation operates)
- The hierarchy of the God-tiers (Spoiler alert, Swann may not be at the top any more)
- Type 8 Swann level shenanigans (Should Author Avatars get non-combat applicable Type 8 immortality and plot manip from Swann)
- Many lesser things
